Jan 6, 2011

The flavors you love about a Cuban sandwich... made skinnier! Perfect for lunch.

There was no way I was making Pernil without making Cuban sandwiches. For those of you who never heard of a Cuban sandwich, you might think this is a strange combo. A classic Cuban sandwich is made with roast pork (pernil), ham, Swiss, pickles, and mustard, butter and garlic on Cuban bread, heated and melted on a panini press. It's probably a day's worth of points. My reduced fat version has all the flavors of a Cuban without the added fat.

Heat a non-stick pan over low heat. Spray with cooking spray and place tortilla on pan. On half of the tortilla, place a piece of cheese, pork, ham, pickle and mustard. When cheese is melted, fold the quesadilla in half and flip to heat other side. Remove from heat and cut into 3 pieces.

I have steered away from Cuban's as I've never been able to justify all the fatty ingredients. This recipe looks like a great way to introduce myself to them! Love your recipes and I must sound like a broken record at our ww meetings as I mention your site all the time. Your recipes give me the variety I need to stick with the program. As a lifetime member I've learned I need to cook and try new things in order to not resort back to my pre ww habits! Thank you for the many great recipes!

I make these ALL the time, (being Puerto Rican but growing up in a Cuban community) this is a staple in my house. If you want the true Latin taste, you might try this: I lightly spread light butter or butter spray and then sprinkle both sides with artificial sweetner (I use Sweet n Low. You wont be sorry! :)

I made these tonight for dinner and they were a HIT! And since I didn't read the directions completely before I made them, I didn't have the pernil...so I used some seasoned roast beef slices and they were delicious! Thanks for another great recipe!

Gina....There are no words to describe how delicious these are. I am eating them right this second and was so compelled to comment. I didnt have time to make the pernil but I used boar's head spanish style pork (from the deli counter) and it is AMAZING. as a 1/2 cuban girl from miami, i cannot believe how close the taste is to a real cuban sandwich. Thank you, thank you, thank you! -Angela

I made these today and they are really good! Thank you for the recipe! I did have to modify it to my taste & what I had in the house. I don't like swiss so I used low fat pepperjack cheese and I'm out of ham so I used a slice of turkey. Still came out excellent!

So I blew the dust off my slow cooker and decided to try this recipe out. I couldn't believe how tender the pork was! Adding a little bit of ham with mustard and pickle made this dish. I was also surprised that it didn't need mayo!

Once I made the pernil recipe, I knew I had to try this and am so very glad I did. I couldn't find 6 in tortillas. The supermarket near me actually had La Tortilla Factory tortillas & wraps on sale but they were the large size so the points+ value was different but it still wasn't bad.

This was so yummy. There's something about the combination that made it especially tasty. :)

I'm so glad I had a recipe that made use of the pernil. This is the BEST recipe for leftovers ever!

I'm sure it would be just as good with left of turkey in place of the pork. Next Thanksgiving, I know what I'm doing with those turkey leftovers. :)

We had the skinny puerto rican pulled pork earlier this week and these cubans last night. Everything was DELICIOUS! Even my super-picky husband ate it up. :) Thanks for the awesome recipes. I can't wait to try more from your site!

I made this today for my 11 yr old son and he and I LOVED them. I don't eat pork and I'm not crazy about Turkey so I did a pot roast in the slow cooker last night and used some of it in the sandwich - DELISH!! Thanks abunch!

PS: I subbed turkey "ham" for the ham and used the shredded roast beef from my pot roast. Used everything just as you directed. I also doctored up a version of your low fat banana bread (I added shredded coconut and cut the sugar in half by using 1/2 c agave nectar and 1/2 c apple sauce. I Love your blog it's a God Send. I just joined WW and your site is making it easy for me to stick to my point limits each day. It also helps that my son loves everything I've made so far - - (baked potato soup yesterday). I'm trying the empanadas tomorrow. I made the picadillo tonight. Thanks again!

Im at a loss for words...I found this website accidentally the other day by snooping around on Pinterest and WOW!! I was so excited to not only find a website that had easy to follow, delicious sounding recipes; but also had weight watchers points already counted. Thank you doesn't seem like a big enough word for how easy you have made my life this week, lol. We have already made your homemade french fries, skinny crockpot pernil, cuban beans and rice, collard greens, and I am eating a cuban quesidilla as I type. LOVE LOVE LOVE...thank you for taking the time to make our lives a little easier and more delicious! Can't wait to try more :)

Gina, this sandwich is perfect. Thanks for making so many delicious recipes for the rest of us to enjoy. My husband isn't counting points, but he is benefiting from all of these great meals & is shedding weight too.

I saw this recipe a few weeks ago and just kept thinking about it so I figured that meant I should try it. I wasn't disappointed one bit. These are so delicious!! Thank you so much for this delicious recipe.